As Saudi Arabia’s fund confirmed it was pulling LIV Golf’s funding this week, the question of what happens to its players landed back in the spotlight. ESPN‘s Stephen A. Smith had an answer. So did a PGA Tour player who plays the Tour every week.

Speaking on First Take on Thursday, Smith went after the PGA Tour with full force. Known more for his NFL and NBA takes, he argued that Tour had no right to punish returning LIV golfers because it was the Tour’s own conduct that drove them away in the first place.

“It was their negligence, it was their abuse, it was their taking golfers for granted that forced the existence of LIV to begin with,” Smith said.

He also took his point forward, evoking fellow analyst Mike Whilbon as a witness to the tour’s post-LIV scramble to offer players better deals, which he also framed as proof that the Tour knew what it had done wrong. He also claimed that if the PGA Tour moves to punish returning players, “we should stay in their a– like white on rice.” The overall discussion has, however, not settled well with the PGA Tour player Michael Kim.

He took to X within hours, calling it a “horrendous take.”

“Players were forced to take multi-million dollar checks and then sue the very tour that gave them the platform to make names for themselves, mostly because they weren’t paid their PIP money.” Kim wrote, “Was everything perfect? Obviously not. But to say they were forced? That’s laughable,” Kim wrote.

Kim’s points cut to the core of what Smith perhaps missed: the Player Impact Program. It was a bonus pool on the PGA Tour created specifically to retain its biggest stars, rewarding them for social media reach and public visibility.

Several players who later left for LIV, including names like Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson, were among those who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Tour after making the switch. The lawsuit was eventually dropped, but those 11 players, which also include Taylor Gooch and Ian Poulter, are now expected to face additional scrutiny on any return as resentment over the litigation persists within the membership.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Roloff made the Tour’s position clear, speaking in an interview just yesterday. When asked about players seeking to return following LIV’s funding withdrawal, he remained ambiguous in his answer.

“There were rules, and they were broken. With rules come responsive accountability.” On the lingering tension caused by the antitrust lawsuit, he added, “I don’t necessarily have scar tissue, but there are plenty of people around our tour who do. It has to be accounted for in some shape or form.”

Smith’s claim becomes even more complicated when we consider that the PGA Tour opened a program for returning members for Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Cameron Smith, all of whom ultimately chose not to participate. The window for this program has now closed.

The structured reality is still messier. The Tour intends to sort returning players into separate categories depending on how they left, including places where players never formally resigned their membership before competing in LIV events. Some also didn’t follow the exit rule on the way out and are now seeking reentry on their own terms. Rolapp has mentioned that not everyone will find an easy road back.

“We are interested in having the best players who can help our tour,” he said. “Not every player can do that.”

The PGA Tour and its internal members understand their goals and what they will not tolerate. Meanwhile, LIV players are navigating their next steps. Jon Rahm’s situation is particularly complicated. Unlike many of his peers, his challenges did not begin this week.

Standoff with the DP World Tour leaves Jon Rahm’s path back to elite golf uncertain

Jon Rahm’s relationship with the DP World Tour has been in open conflict for over a year. The Tour sanctioned him for playing LIV Golf events without approved releases, and the fines have grown to more than $3 million.

Eight of his LIV colleagues, including Tyrrell Hatton, chose a different route earlier this year. They paid their fines, withdrew their appeals, and were granted conditional releases that allow them to continue playing across both circuits. Rahm, however, refused.

He described the terms as extortionate and withdrew his appeal in March without agreeing to pay anything. His sticking point was structural: the DP World Tour required a commitment to six events, while Rahm insisted he would only agree to the minimum of four. That impasse has held.

The consequences of that standoff now extend far beyond scheduling. With LIV’s long-term future uncertain beyond 2026, Rahm’s suspended DP World Tour membership represents the most realistic route back into top-level competitive golf. His eligibility for the Ryder Cup in 2027 with Team Europe also runs through that circuit.

At the Masters last month, Rahm remained unapologetic.

“We keep talking about the DP World Tour and trying to figure out a solution,” he said. “I didn’t think going the legal route was good for anybody.”

As it stands, a return to the PGA Tour appears even more complicated. If LIV does fold after 2026, Rahm’s most viable outcome may still be a negotiated return to the DP World Tour if a path back remains open.